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P-Nats' Bronson makes steady progress

Potomac Nationals left handed pitcher Evan Bronson is coming off one of his best starts of the year Thursday against Lynchburg. Bronson went 5.1 innings, scattering five hits, allowing no runs, no walks and striking out three batters.

23-year old Bronson is a 6-3 195-pound lefthander out of Trinity College was selected in the 29th round of the 2009 draft. Last season, Bronson was 3-0 with an 0.55 ERA for Vermont and was named a mid-season All-Star.

I caught up with the Midlothian, VA product in Woodbridge recently and talked about what he felt his role was on the Potomac Nationals right now.

"I feel like I am somebody who can step in a provide a start when somebody needs an extra day or somebody goes down. I also feel I can provide a role out of the bullpen. I am (the type of pitcher) who can come in and get outs when they need it."

On his control to not walk anyone again. "I feel like that is one of the strong points in my game. As long as that is there I can continue to make strides in other areas of my game." Bronson says he continues to become more consistent on the location of his off speed pitches and holding runners on base, two things he has been concentrating on since that May 26th start in Woodbridge.

Bronson says he is "still working on my curveball. I want to make that a good offering instead of just a show pitch right now."

Bronson says pitching coach Paul Menhart has worked on several facets of his game.

"He has made a tremendous difference for me. It is not that I am a completely different pitcher but that I am definitely on the right track. I think that Paul has done a tremendous job of helping me develop and improve in each aspect of my game."

Bronson pinpointed his breaking pitches as a focus for improvement.

"I think as far as my off speed pitches he helped me get more of a variance in between the speed of my pitches. That has helped me with my fastball because I am not the type of guy that is going to run it up there with any huge velocity."

Evan says he is still learning the pro side of the game and feels good about the progress he has made so far. Judging from Thursday's outing, he has taken another solid step forward to moving up in the Nats organization.